We had a grand time at the Renaissance Festival today. We got there in time to see the royal court arrive, and we were able to see a number of good shows - Wine & Alchemy, Shakespeare's Skum, and the Human Chess Match.

This year's storyline involves King Henry VIII trying to convince Mary of Guise, the Dowager Queen of Scotland, to betroth her infant daughter, Mary, Queen of Scots to Henry's son, Prince Edward. Due to various unfortunate occurrences, it does not turn out well.

lostsatyr and I got to meet the King and the Dowager Queen at the start of the day. We were the first to take them up on it. :) The Dowager Queen is originally from France, so it was amusing when His Majesty told us, "You can tell she is from Scotland by her accent." :)

We saw "Shakespeare's Skum: In Jeopardy Too," which was Jeopardy played with Shakespeare questions. I got to be one of the contestants,, and I think I did reasonably well, even though I didn't win.

Since I've learned how to take video with the camera since we were here last year, I got some video of the fights during the Human Chess Match and possibly (not sure if I was doing it right) of Wine and Alchemy. lostsatyr also picked up some of W & A's CDs.

We also got a chance to do some shopping, and I found some pretty new Faire skirts, a book about Elizabeth I and Mary, Queen of Scots, and some clove-scented beeswax soap and some very tasty honey (they were giving out free samples at the booth, and I liked it so much I picked some up). I spotted another book I was intrigued by at the bookstore today, so I think I may be going back tomorrow.

All in all, a most enjoyable day. Tomorrow, they are forecasting possible thunderstorms in the afternoon, so I'm making sure to pack an umbrella. Since it's supposed to rain tomorrow, we saw a number of afternoon shows today. :)

Time to make a picnic lunch for tomorrow's trip to the Renaissance Festival, and then probably to bed - I'd like to get there early enough to try and fit in some of the things we didn't get to do today.